Euro 2020 footballers should have at least 4 weeks off, official says

Euro 2020 footballers should have a mandatory break of at least four weeks afterwards, according to former Bayern Munich technical director Michael Reschke.

Reschke said this was necessary in order for them to recover properly from a long season.

“Three weeks are not enough for national team players after this extreme season, even more as the first three or four days after such a tournament don’t really have holiday quality.

“An enforced holiday of at least four weeks would be right,” said Reschke who has also worked at Cologne, Schalke and VfB Stuttgart in the past.

“I know how difficult it is to have this compatible with the match schedule and how challenging it would be especially for a new coach like Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern Munich.

“But, after this challenging year and a half, a complete recovery would be the order of the day. The lads need time to get energy physically and, as important, mentally. Let them be hungry for football again.”

Owing to the coronavirus, many players had a short summer break last year and again this year, and a very condensed schedule in the past season.

Reschke said players like Portugal’s Manchester United player Bruno Fernandes or Bayern Munich’s Germany forward Thomas Mueller had not been at their best at the Euros because of the strain.

“The battery is simply empty at some stage,” he said.